A New Place to Wait

Not a bad photo for a cell phone, eh? It's called Apple Pie. Hot apple cider with caramel syrup and cinnamon. I got it at the coffee shop down the hill called Bongo Java. It's your typical college neighborhood cafe. The patrons are early to mid 20's. The music playing is from bands and musicians most people have never heard of. Those bands and musicians who gather followings through word of mouth, cafe concerts and iTunes. I think it's part of the whole package of being a college neighborhood cafe patron. It's a rule in an instructional book-probably titled "College Cafe Patronage for Dummies".

Rule 1: Be different and nonconforming, less mainstream. This goes for clothing, hair, and taste in music.

Rule 2 is probably something like: "If you're going to have a laptop it must be made by Apple.

Such a patron would find it serendipitous if he/she stepped into the back room and find the book on the shelf titled Macs for Dummies. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Mac users are dummies. However, the book seems to accept that there are some- indeed the success of the book depends on the existence of dummies who own Macs. As does all the "____ for Dummies" collection. There's also a Macintosh Bible -for those who seek spiritual guidance?
"Thou shalt not Control+Alt+Delete"?

Topics of discussion at Bongo Java are mostly centered around college classes, term papers, professors, and the occasional punk bohemian gossip about new world orders, The Man, UFO's,
and Star Wars....you know-those old chesnuts. But no one is talking about fishing. Back home coffee shops are very different. Patrons are usually of retirement age. They're up early at 5 am and huddled around one or two tables. They'll look at you when you walk in-trying to figure out whose kid you are. No iPods, no laptops, no apple ciders with heaping whipped cream. Just plain black coffee and creamer and sugar. They talk about fishing. What's biting, where they're biting, what bait is best, and the weather. The small town coffee shop partons aren't in any hurry. They're patient. Patience learned from fishing. You go out, throw out your line, and you wait to get lucky. That's what fishing is, patiently waiting to get lucky-and enjoying it.